Median home prices rise in Glendale

Daniel Siegal, daniel.siegal@latimes.com

The real estate market in Glendale saw continued steady growth last month as median home prices were driven up by a limited number of homes and lots of potential buyers, according to the latest real estate report.

The median price of a single-family home rose 10.1% compared to February 2012, from $622,000 to $685,000, according to statistics compiled by Realtor Keith Sorem with Keller Williams Realty in Glendale.

The median price of a condominium also increased, rising 14% for the second straight month. The median price climbed from $235,000 a year ago to $268,000 last month.

Anna Nelson, Realtor with Keller Williams Realty at the Americana, said the situation hasn’t changed for several months, with reasonably priced homes attracting multiple offers and prices slowly but steadily increasing.

“We are starting to see good news,” she said. “I expect to see a pretty good increase through the summer.”

Sorem said the constrained inventory isn’t likely to be expanded by short sales this month because some banks are forgiving homeowners’ second mortgages.

There were 62 homes on the market last month, a 52% drop from 129 a year ago. Condos saw an even sharper drop, declining 65%, from 93 on the market in February 2012 to only 32 last month.

Nelson said that with prices increasing, the continued shortage in inventory is somewhat puzzling, but she expects many potential sellers are holding onto their homes in hopes prices will climb even farther.

“That is kind of strange, but if interest rates start going up, that will be an indication that it’s time to sell,” Nelson said. “If they start going up, [potential sellers] say, ‘I better move or else I’ll be stuck.’”

The number of homes sold only dipped last month. Twenty-seven homes sold last month, compared to 29 last year. And 37 condos sold last month, down 2.6% from edging down from 38 in February 2012.

In the La Crescenta-Montrose area, 16 single-family homes were on the market last month, a 65% drop from 46 in February 2012, according to Sorem’s report. Nine homes sold last month, one less than a year ago,

Unlike in Glendale, the median price of a home dropped in La Crescenta, from $575,000 in February 2012 to $540,000 last month.

There were three condos sold and three on the market last month, down from eight sold and 20 condos for sale a year ago.

In La Cañada Flintridge, the number of single-family homes for sale declined to 37, a 34% drop from 56 a year ago, but the number of homes sold ticked up from 10 to 13.